


High Fashion

by YAJJ



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Not Beta Read, Slice of Life, We Die Like Men, au where vanitas has a happy ending, body horror but like only in storytelling, cannibalism but like only in storytelling, lowkey terqua, onesided vanven, parent friends watch on while a boy tries desperately to keep his crush from showing, said crush thinks its HILARIOUS, terra is actually a fashionista, they dont actually happen vanitas just thinks he's funny, unfinished ending i gave up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25450282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YAJJ/pseuds/YAJJ
Summary: The Wayfinder Trio takes Vanitas clothing shopping. The results are unexpected, but not unwelcome.I.e., the Vanitas in a dress fic you never asked for
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	High Fashion

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had a lot of fun writing this. For all the guys out there who like wearing dresses, this one's for you.  
> Also this is an AU where, when Ventus said "you're coming home too", Vanitas said "Okay". uwu  
> ALSO Sora and Terra both earned Master after defeating Xehanort sorry guys I don't make the rules

The village that the Castle in the Land of Departure stood above was small, but it was beautiful. Ven loved visiting here on days off, just sitting up and watching these few people live their lives, not a care in the world. All of them were aware of the castle far above, but none of them were aware that it was training young worlds-savers. What it would be like, if they found out. Would they praise them? Question them? Shun them? Call them crazy for thinking other worlds were out there? He couldn’t know.

Even their small world was really full of wonderful things. 

Vanitas bumped him, leaning against his side with his face turned on his arms. His face was set in a line—a little bit irritated, but more bored than anything. He wasn’t a people watcher like Ven was. “Why are we here?”

“It’s cool,” Ven said with a shrug. Since Vanitas had come around to their side and more than proven himself, Ven was determined to show him every last cool thing he could find. “It’s fun.”

“Literally what about this is fun for you. All you’re doing is stalking people. Creep.”

Aqua snorted and hid her face in her hand. She and Terra were sitting on another building not far from them. People watching, but giving the two halves space. 

“It’s not stalking, it’s  _ watching _ .  _ You’re _ the stalker around here, creep.”

Vanitas opened his mouth to protest, but didn’t know how, and so wisely fell silent. He scowled at the rooftop.

“And the fun part? Making up stories as you go. Here, here. Look. See that lady with the dalmation?” Ven grabbed the loose neck of Vanitas’ bodysuit, pulled one too many times, and yanked him forward. Vanitas groaned but obeyed, following his finger to the woman carrying a breadbasket below. A dog bounced along happily beside her. “That dog used to be white. Until the breadmaker got ahold of it and threatened to dye it black unless she bought out his whole shop. Every hour he dyed it another drop. It took a couple days to do it, but she got the money and bought all the bread he had. No matter how much she cleaned it, the dog was never the same.”

Red eyes whipped toward Ven, practically glaring. “...that’s about the stupidest thing I ever heard, Wenty. If you’re going to tell a story, make it fun to listen to.”

Ven scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever,  _ Vani _ . Let’s see you do one, you’ll see it’s not so easy!”

“Don’t call me that.” Regardless, Vanitas rose to the challenge, looking all around the square. “...Twig man, four o’clock. He limps on his right.”

“What a story.”

“I wasn’t done, dumbass.”

The man was, in fact, limping on his right side when Ven saw him. He had a cane in front of him. People seemed to avoid him; Ven almost felt bad for him. 

“This was about twenty years ago, back when he was spry,” Vanitas started, leaning his chin on his arms again. “He used to be an excellent swordsman—and in fact, just to be safe, he has one hidden in his cane right now. Anyway, back then, he was a master. He trained all the guards and anyone willing to learn in his craft. He was exceptionally noble, as swordsmen I remember from the stories our friends used to tell us when we were one, were. At least, that’s what everyone thought.”

Ven eyed him warily. Where was he going with this…?

“See, you had to graduate from his class, right? Otherwise he’d like creep around and find you. Most people did anyway, but anyone who failed their final test just kind of… disappeared. Everyone assumed they fled in shame, but no one ever heard from them again.”

The man turned down a different cobblestone street, out of the square, and headed home. Vanitas did not stop.

“Until one day, this was about twenty years ago when he was still spry, remember. One day, someone was picking up the trash and they saw… a… finger poking out? Curious, that someone grabbed and pulled on it, revealing a  _ real live human arm _ . But, only the arm. And it looked like it had been  _ chewed _ off.”

“Eugh, Vanitas,” Terra groaned, grimacing. 

“So they called on the guards and everyone who learned from him, and they invaded his home. No one had ever been allowed in, see. After this, they never wanted to go back in.”

“Wh—what did they find…?” Ventus asked, his voice small. Something of him knew this was fake but… what if it wasn’t…?

“They found the basement.  _ Covered _ in bloody handprints. The ceiling was splattered with blood stains, and the walls, too. You’ve never seen a horror show as bad as this. Ever. Worse than that, in the corner behind the stairs, there was a blanketed lump. When they pulled the blanket away, they found  _ dozens _ of rotting human heads and skulls. Of all those villagers who failed his test.  _ This _ is what had become of them.”

“Oh god,” Aqua said, looking a little pale. When Ven glanced her way, he saw Terra rubbing her back and looking unsettled. 

“ _ Oh god  _ is right,” Vanitas went on. He had been mostly straight faced through the whole telling, but now something not unlike an evil grin of old was curling. “They searched the whole house, but couldn’t find him. Someone had very recently failed the test, after all. Then they remembered—he had a shed out near the edge of town! They went out to try to stop him, only to find him… already chewing on his victim’s  _ heart _ . When he saw them coming, he dropped the body and fled out into the woods. Everyone chased him. He wasn’t paying attention to where he was doing, got caught in a tree root, and  _ bam _ ! down like a bomb. Absolutely ruined his leg.”

Ven swallowed, glancing toward the edge of town. Could they see the shed? Was it still standing?

“The guards all approached with their swords drawn, spitting mad like Aqua—“

“ _ Hey _ !”

“They told him to say his final prayers, but instead he put his hands up and begged for mercy. ‘ _ Please! _ ’ he said. ‘ _ Haven’t you ever just wanted to experience something new! Won’t you take pity on your old master?’ _ ”

“They didn’t,” Terra said, eyes wide. Ven watched Vanitas now, wondering if this had any relation to Vanitas’ unwillingness to do to his Master what he very well could have.

“They did! They didn’t just spare him, either. He got to live in his own house, even though they boarded up the basement. He had to promise to never take on another student again, and he would be left alone. Shunned and ignored, but alive.”

Aqua looked nearly green in the face, Terra wasn’t faring any better. Ven’s eyes were huge; surely that couldn’t be true. After all—

“And that’s the story of why that guy’s ankle is gimpy, and why this village is so small.”

Wait. He had been making it up; Ven just about forgot! “There’s no way you just threw that together!”

“Because it’s the truth!”

Ven groaned and shoved his elbow into Vanitas’ ribcage. “Shut up, jackass. C’mon, let’s go. We came here for a reason.” He twisted around and slid gracefully down the roof, heels catching on the edge to propel in the air and land lightly on his toes. Vanitas came up behind him grumbling, rubbing his sore ribs.

“Oh did we?” Vanitas snarked. “I thought we were here because it was ‘cool’.” 

“We were on the roof because it’s cool, we’re in town for a reason. Obviously.”

“ _ Obviously _ ,” Vanitas mocked. He jumped out of his skin when Aqua suddenly landed beside him. She may have been light on her toes but she was still an entire person. At least her landing made him turn around to see Terra land heavier. 

She just smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, steering him in the direction toward whatever they were going toward. “This way,” she hummed. He groaned but followed. 

There was a store at the end of the block that they were nearing. Aqua and Terra had taken Ven to this same place not long after he’d first arrived in the Land of Departure to be Eraqus’ apprentice, so he had more to wear than his own favorite outfit. Vanitas was in  _ desperate _ need of clothes of his own, since he was stealing clothes of Ven’s to wear on top of his bodysuit. This place serviced men and women’s outfits and had serviced all three of them, and so would do nicely. Ven didn’t know if he should be surprised or not that it was still standing after so long, but since the castle and most of the village had been unharmed… 

“Aqua!” a man with a thick accent cried from the back of the store, striding forward. “If it isn’t my favorite queen. It’s been so long!”

“Jaime!” Aqua moved forward and had yet to drop Vanitas’ shoulder, dragging him forward. “How are you?”

“Fabulous, my love. What are we here for today? You look like you need a little update in style; the skirt fits you so beautiful, but you need a change, perhaps?”

Aqua laughed and waved her hand, not at all offended. Jaime and Aqua had apparently known one another for quite some time. “Not for me, Jaime. Here. This is our new friend, Vanitas. Say hi, Vanitas.”

Vanitas shot her a look, looking rather out of place. He nodded at Jaime but offered no further greeting; not much different from his standard greeting. 

“What you’re seeing here is a gorgeous ensemble of all of Ven’s clothing, and the same thing he’s been wearing since he was born.”

“ _ Aqua _ !” Vanitas protested, glaring hard enough to kill. 

Jaime pressed his knuckle against his mouth, giving Vanitas a long once over. Vanitas squirmed, but with Aqua’s hand on his shoulder he couldn’t move. Jaime apparently finished his examination, saying, “you know love, this unkempt look is working for you, but let’s find you something a little more your speed. Come, come in, tell me what you like.”

Jaime’s arm went all around Vanitas’ shoulder, quickly replacing Aqua’s, and dragged him inside. He looked even more out of place, but Jaime had always been good about getting people to open up, and soon Vanitas was offering quiet, short answers to whatever it was Jaime was asking. Aqua laughed and went to browse scarves alongside Terra. Ven hovered by the door, watching Vanitas while Jaime explained his “vision”, then went to Aqua and Terra. Vanitas was getting better about the whole “people” thing. He certainly didn’t need Ven to hover. 

The two disappeared for a while into a section Ven didn’t see. He followed absently after Aqua and Terra, glancing over his shoulder to look for Vanitas but overall not caring much.

Vanitas and Jaime soon reappeared by the trio of mirrors, Vanitas wearing a new simple outfit. Ven had to do a double take when he saw what Vanitas was wearing, grabbing onto Aqua’s arm. Was he… seeing that right?

Aqua glanced to him and then to where he looked, and she gasped. Her eyes lit up with delight and she quickly made her way over, practically on cloud nine.

Vanitas stood there, comfortable as ever, still wearing the combat boots Ven was pretty sure were stolen. His ensemble though was replaced with… a long, flowy dress with a mesh, lacey bottom. The dress parted pretty high on his thigh, so that if one looked, they’d see his boxers. 

“Aqua!” He barked when he saw Aqua approaching. “Am I losing my fucking mind or is this too high? He says it’s not but I feel all exposed.”

Aqua’s bell laughter rang when she squatted, considering him and the… dress. “If you were to change your underpants I think you’d be fine, which you might want to do if you want to wear something this tight.”

The look that Vanitas gave her made it starkly clear that she was not to mess with a man and his underpants. She laughed again and continued. 

“But, if your heart is set, I would agree.” She pinched the fabric together partway down his thigh. “Maybe take it up to here? That’s still high and it looks good. Squat for me.”

He did, knees going out.

“And you’ve got movability there, too. It’s a very pretty dress, Vanitas.”

Once again, the look he gave her could kill. “I’m a  _ guy _ , Aqua. It’s not pretty.”

“Oh hush, men can be beautiful too, and wear beautiful things. I didn’t realize you were into dresses.”

Ven finally approached, his face red. Something about the look had thrown him for a loop, but the confidence Vanitas displayed in spite of the… unusual wear was doing things to him. 

“I didn’t either,” Vanitas agreed, pulling at the lacey sleeves clinging around his wrists. “I saw this and thought ‘now that’s something I can fight in’.”

Ven snorted and coughed into his fist. Clearing his throat, he came up behind Aqua, crossing his arms. “You would pick something just so you can fight in it.”

“Jealous you can’t pull this off, Venty?” Vanitas struck an unnecessarily provocative pose, hand on his hip. The effect was sort of ruined by the combat boots but all in all, not bad. 

Ven was almost tempted to track down a dress of his own, if only to prove he could more than pull it off,  _ thank you _ . He would have moved if Terra hadn’t come up and planted his elbows directly on his shoulders. 

“Hey,” Terra said with a grin. “Looks great! What is that, velvet? It looks like velvet.”

“So it is!” Jaime cheered, sticking a pin where Aqua had pinched the fabric together. “ _ Luxuriously _ soft, lucky boy! Like a dream!”

“Gotta say though, if you’re going for dresses you can fight in, something like a flowy A-line is what I would expect for you. Frees up your knees. Hang on, I saw one recently, let me see if I can find it.” Terra pulled out his gummiphone and immediately went searching. 

Aqua glanced for a moment toward Jaime, worried about the ‘world order’, but apparently Jaime was simply Jaime, and did not care. 

“Since when were you fashionable?” Ven snarked. The phone lit up in his face and Terra searched away. 

“Please, I’m passionate about it. Can’t you tell?” After a moment, he found something and turned the screen to Vanitas. “Here, this isn’t what I was thinking of but this would look good too.” 

Vanitas considered the dress on his phone seriously, another lacey one where the midsection hugged the model’s waist but the lower part poofed out a little, allowing for even more room. There was a black strip of fabric to mid thigh that protected his nether regions but aside from that, the bottom was totally see-through. Vanitas stepped to the side and glanced back to Jaime, who got a good look as if this place had always had access to high-speed devices and the multiverse internet. 

“I bet I can find something very similar, I’ll be back.” He clapped his hands on Vanitas’ shoulders and pressed a very quick kiss to his cheek, and then took off. 

Vanitas eyed him warily, then turned back to the trio. “So like… he’s weird, right?”

“‘ _ Eccentric’ _ , is the word the Master always used,” Terra agreed. “But he’s a good guy. He’s helped us find all our outfits.” 

“He’s also pretty good about backing off if you ask him to. Surprised you didn’t.”

“He didn’t do anything real weird until then. The rest I figured was just part of the process and I shouldn’t kick his ass.”

“Yet,” Ven supplied.

Knowing, Vanitas just nodded. “Right. Yet.”

Jaime swept back in like a whirlwind, clinging to another lacey dress he had found. It was similar to the one Terra had shown—the black fabric on the inside was a little longer, hugging closer to his knees, and the lace would approach the middle of his calves. 

Though the dress was beautiful, something about it was putting Vanitas off. Ventus watched the frown lines in his forehead deepen with the one across his lips. 

“...Long sleeves,” was all Vanitas said, one hand rubbing the other forearm. Vanitas had never actually… exposed his forearms to them, Ven realized. There must have been a reason.

Jaime tutted and nodded. He hung the dress on the rack behind him and went to find something different.

“...Vanitas?” Ven asked, reaching as if to grab his hand. Vanitas was quick to pull his hand out of reach and crossed his arms, glaring at them with murder in his eyes.

“...It’s nothing. I don’t like my arms and I don’t want to stare at them all day.”

Terra hummed, still scrolling through his phone with a new thought in mind. Ventus stared at the mesh covering Vanitas’ arms, noticing the slight discolorations weaving patterns on his skin. Ven had never thought about it before, but he knew Vanitas had been… mistreated, at Xehanort’s hand. Had such mistreatment left evidence on his skin?

“Stop thinking about it,” Vanitas snapped. Aqua had pulled a compact hairbrush out of Ven-didn’t-want-to-know and was working it through his hair, something soothing and practical, like trying to keep his mess of a hairdo under control. 

“Sorry,” Ven mumbled. 

“Whatever.”

“Vanitas,” Aqua scolded, tugging on his hair but only a little. “We talked about this.”

“ _ Fine _ . It’s fine. You didn’t know.” Vanitas shot her a very annoyed look, but said nothing more. 

Finally, after another few minutes, Jaime returned with a few dresses in hand, as well as a shirt/pant combination. He hung them on the wall and asked for Vanitas’ opinion, particularly regarding the shorter one. They all had long sleeves and all, undoubtedly at Vanitas’ request, were black. Jaime also hung up a long sleeved black shrug to the side for consideration. 

“Terra,” he said, gesturing to the shorter one. “I took your thought into consideration and I think that you are right. Vanitas, darling, something like this would look simply fantastic. They’re only three-quarter sleeves, but I wondered if that would be alright, or maybe if we throw on this gorgeous piece.” Jaime tacked the shrug over the short A-line dress. 

Vanitas tapped the toe of his boot on the floor. Aqua’s fingers were playing with the fringes of his hair, again as if to soothe. He shrugged lightly, arms still crossed over himself. 

“Maybe if you try it on and see how you feel for yourself? Jaime knows what he’s talking about, but it’s your decision,” Terra offered.

“...Whatever.” Something was brewing in his shadow, but he stomped the toe of his boot down again, and it disappeared as he swallowed back whatever strong emotion he was feeling. Ven gave Jaime a look and hoped he would see, but he seemed to be busy watching. 

“Well then that’s a no! You’re a tough cookie, my boy. Here then. This is a little busier than what you were thinking but I thought it could go well with your look, I simply love it.” 

The next dress had full, lacey sleeves that were hemmed around the middle of his forearm so they were loose. The neckhole was small, would probably hug his neck, but there seemed to be a meshy center of the chest, which Ven found amusing and… easy to imagine working for Vanitas, now that him in dresses was on the mind. Around the front of the stomach and waist was a built in corset, Ven had to guess, to be tied but not too tightly. The dress itself was short, but had three distinct layers, each bottomed with lace. 

Ven felt himself go red in the face and quickly ducked his head away in the hopes it would go unnoticed. He drew the attention of his friends, and he could practically feel Vanitas’ evil grin. 

“Yeah, I’ll try that one on.”

“How marvelous!” 

“Whatcha thinking about, Ven?” Terra said, his voice low and  _ definitely _ teasing. Ven quickly slammed his elbow back into Terra and buried his face in his collar, hoping and wishing everyone went away. Terra helpfully patted his back. 

Vanitas took the last two dresses and went off to try them on, grinning like a madman. Aqua rolled her eyes and ran her brush through the long parts of her own hair, clearly enjoying the feeling against her scalp. “You two, honestly,” she said, knowing.

“Shut up, Aqua.”

If Ven hadn’t known Aqua for as long as he had, he was pretty sure she would scold him for such disrespect, especially toward a Master. As it was, she just laughed and struck up short conversation with Jaime while they waited. 

Finally, after a few more minutes and just as Ven was about to track down the changing room and see if he could help, Vanitas emerged. He was still wearing those thick ass combat boots, but this dress left very little to the imagination, at least until it neared mid-thigh. Aqua was probably right about his underpants—Ven could see the bottom hem of them trying to poke out. Wisely though, he stayed silent about that. He wasn’t about to risk that sort of anger.

“Ah!! You look great!” Aqua cheered when she spotted him, once again looking delighted. “Look at  _ that _ , it’s beautiful! Ven, you have  _ impeccable _ taste.”

Ven’s face went several shades redder, making Terra and Vanitas laugh. He crossed his arms over his chest and tore his gaze from Vanitas to glare spitefully at the floor.

“How do you feel? Comfortable?”

“Fine,” Vanitas said. “The fabric’s a little itchy but I don’t know that I put it on totally right. And I think it can squeeze a little tighter, too.”

“Don’t, you’re allowed to breathe in this stuff.”

Jaime tapped his lips with his fingers, silently appraising him. His hands went up into the air. “You look fabulous! Such a goth vibe going on, I love it. Spectacular. What do you think?”

Ven finally lifted his head to get a good look at his other half, giving him more than just a once over. Again, Vanitas radiated confidence, despite how much skin he showed. His back was straight and frankly, he looked ready to walk out onto a runway and show himself off. The attitude once upon a time had pissed Ventus off to no end, but now that Vanitas had seen the light, so to speak, and more than made amends, Ven found it admittedly… attractive. It coupled with the look and the boots fantastically, steamrolling into one look that was really doing it for Vanitas, and doing Ventus in. 

Vanitas glanced over his way from whatever he was listening to Aqua, Terra, and Jaime say. He noticed how red and warm Ventus’ face undoubtedly was, noticed the stare, noticed the way Ven’s mouth was fallen open only a fraction. A smirk fell across his face, and he merely lifted his chin and straightened his knees, knowing exactly what he was doing to Ven. 

That was hardly  _ fair _ . 

“We should find you some heels too. Not easy to fight in, but they’d look  _ great _ . Maybe boots with heels.”

_ God _ . Ven was almost certain Aqua was saying these things just to spite him.

“But maybe for another day.”

Terra laughed, and Ven felt his arm loop around him, perhaps in support. He told Vanitas to go change back into his ensemble and they’d head out. 

When Vanitas emerged back in his jumpsuit and Ven’s jacket and gloves, they tracked down pants and shirts that had been tried on at some point apparently and then checked out with Jaime, who was still pinning up Vanitas’ dresses. He promised he would send them to him in a week, they purchased the same black straps that crossed over Ven, Terra, and Aqua, and then they were out with a small box of now almost all the clothing Vanitas owned. 

They stopped in at a bakery and picked up treats and some coffee since none of them were up to cooking, and then headed back up the long trail home. Vanitas was quiet as they walked, trailing along beside Ven. Since getting to know him, he found Vanitas doing that a lot. Falling dead silent after “long” periods of interaction. Ven wasn’t sure if he was recuperating or thinking, but there were many days that he could relate.

A few quiet moments passed, and they were halfway up the path when Vanitas spoke up. “This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

“To get you clothes? Yeah, so I could have my own back.”

Vanitas scoffed and buried his face in the collar of Ven’s jacket. It wasn’t hard to guess that he just wasn’t getting it back. 

Ven didn’t mind too much. It looked good on him. 

“...Thanks.”

Ven beamed, eyes shooting down to the way that Vanitas clung to the box, as if afraid it would be taken from him. “O’course! We shoulda done this ages ago but with everyone still recovering, and Aqua and Terra figuring out their whole ‘Master’ business now, it was hard. ‘N’ you looked—“ Ven paused, long and hard, and his face quickly went red again. He turned to watch the ground. “You looked good. In all those. They worked for you.”

Ven expected a snarky, asshole-ish retort. Expected Vanitas to tell him to fuck off, as he was keen on doing.

Instead, Vanitas’ face went several shades redder and he looked away. An Unversed popped up behind him and floated about, quietly trailing after him as if to figure out what, exactly, had birthed it.

“...Whatever.”

Ven grinned, something hopefully sparkled in his eyes. Maybe Ven’s feelings weren’t  _ totally _ only his...?

Whatever it was, successfully embarrassing Vanitas was an accomplishment in and of itself. Even taking the dive and embarrassing himself, halfway to almost confessing, was worth it. 

His next thought disappeared when Vanitas’ elbow suddenly made a home in Ven’s gut, knocking the wind out of him for a second. Vanitas was still embarrassed and seeking petty revenge. “Stop thinking about it,” he snapped. “You think too loud.”

Ven just rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with his friend, noticing the amused glances Aqua and Terra were shooting back toward them. He shot an annoyed one back in the hopes it would knock off any future teasing. Couldn’t they see he’d had enough? 

“Maybe you don’t think loud enough.”

Vanitas scoffed and looked to him to respond. The two of them bickered the whole rest of the way to the castle, much to Aqua and Terra’s continued amusement. Friendly arguments like these were the norm. 

Things were finally settling down. Now with Vanitas comfortably living with them in the castle, in his own room sparsely decorated but still comfortably his, now with Sora and Kairi both finally home and enjoying their places with one another and Riku, now with Xehanort dead and gone and everyone settled in old and new homes, things were peaceful. Aqua and Terra still occasionally went off with Riku, and Sora more recently, to check up on things and squash the occasional Heartless, as their Master duties called for. Things were in line, at peace, and the way things were meant to be. 

Here, with his friends and side by side with his other half, even as they bickered and argued, Ven felt that things were where they were meant to be. 

**Author's Note:**

> The ending is *does a little dance* not good but I don't care, I wanted to post something since I've been so busy working on my Lost Trio fic and not updating What Friendship is,,,,,,,,,,,,, at all  
> rip in rest  
> Please let me know how I did! I hope y'all have a wonderful day! Stay healthy!


End file.
